Column #1: Looking Forward

(My first attempt at some sort of games column. To all of my imaginary readers out there, now would be a good time to leave feedback.)

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So the dust from GTA IV’s landing has settled the reviews are out, the game has been played and hookers everywhere have been slain: What now? Well, Microsoft might go from strength to strength, as Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 are just on the horizon. Add to that multi-platform releases such as Star Wars, Soul Calibur IV(They’re getting Vader, apparently) and Fallout 3 and this could be a very interesting year indeed.

At the start of the year the critics were hailing 2008 as the ‘Year of the PS3’, but so far it has been anything but. The demo if their first highly anticipated exclusive, Haze, was met with general negativity and since the games full release the reviews have been a bit…Hazy.

Puns aside, it seems Ubisoft’s FPS has failed to deliver on its promises. It now looks like it’s up to Konami and Metal Gear Solid 4 to pull things back, but with no other note-worthy exclusives on the horizon for summer; will this be Sony’s year? Or will it pass them by on the wayside? The multiplatform releases should keep the die-hard Sony fans happy with some good gaming, but if they hope to attract a wider market, their going to have to do better then this.

With Microsoft and Sony really butting heads at the moment, it’s easy to lose sight of Nintendo in all of the cross fire. Comfortably carving in-roads in the family and casual gamers market with the Wii, many Nintendo games look childish standing next to Gears, but favourites like Super Smash Brothers Brawl will remind everyone that they can still muck it in with the best of them. Although, that’s about all they’ve got going…

To tell you the truth, one of the games I’m most looking forward too this year is Empire: Total War. Simply bearing the name ‘Total war’ brings with it a certain degree of ‘zomgthisisgoingtokickass’-ness but Creative Assembly have promised a bit of a revolution with this title.

Set around 18^th Century, E:TW will feature full-scale navy battles for the first. Also factoring in the new technologies of gunpowder and cannon, this is probably going to be the best one yet. A lot is being kept under wraps for now, but keep an eye out on all your usual sources for info. Unless you don’t like the series, then of course you don’t have to do anything...